Dragonball Z: Videl's Way
by shanejayell
Summary: Videl must find her way to become a Z fighter....
1. One

Dragonball Z: Videl's Way: One

It was quiet there, standing out in the middle of the grass covered plain. The untamed wilderness stretched out all around them, with scraggly trees growing not far away and the sounds of wild animals off in the distance. A gentle breeze stirred the tall grasses, ruffling the hair of the two opponents who were facing each other.

"Are you ready?" Gohan asked seriously, his scruffy black hair pointed upward in that distinctive style that he always wore.

Videl didn't answer aloud, instead the girl just kicked upwards, the black haired fighter's body a blur as she moved gracefully in her simple overshirt and leotard. Gohan blocked and struck outward, then they were off. The fight almost became a dance, each of them flowing from one stance to another with a speed that most would consider to be inhuman.

'I've got to move faster,' Videl thought to herself bleakly, knowing that her opponent was still holding back against her.

Gohan had a determined expression on his face, the handsome young man's fighting stance giving every indication that he was putting his all into the fight. But Videl had seen him battle during the Buu contests, saw the devastating power that he could call up so easily and she knew that he wasn't going anywhere near his limits.

'And I'm barely keeping up,' Videl thought. Distracted by her thoughts she moaned as a fist clipped the side of her face, blood sent trickling down into her eyes.

"Enough," Gohan called even as he stepped back.

Videl faked a kick at his head even as she scowled, "Keep going!" She raced forward, throwing punches but Gohan just blocked and dodged, backing away.

Gohan caught her hands in his, restraining her with frightening ease as he said to her hesitantly, "But you're bleeding...."

Videl pulled free angrily then reached up to wipe the blood away with the back of her hand, straightening up to show that the pain wasn't bothering her. She sighed as she asked him, "And has that ever slowed you down?"

"Well, no," Gohan admitted, "but I'm...." He trailed off, seeing the peeved expression on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Videl felt a flash of anger, one that she worked hard to contain. "I'm a fighter Gohan," she explained to him patiently, "just like you and the others."

"I know," Gohan raised his hands in surrender. He took up his stance with clear reluctance as he said, "Do you want to continue?"

"No," Videl shook her head, knowing it was a waste of time. She looked at him, this warm, kind young man whom she had come to know, who was her best friend. 'I just wish that I felt more for him,' she thought regretfully, wishing she didn't have to do what she planned.

"What?" Gohan blinked.

"Gohan," Videl looked at that open, honest face sadly as she said, "I don't think we should see each other anymore." Gohan looked at her with an expression of honest confusion and she sighed, 'this is going to take some explaining.'

Videl looked up, watching him disappearing into the afternoon sky. It was almost irritating, how good naturedly he had taken it all. 'Not that I'm entirely sure he understood,' she thought to herself tiredly. She rose into the air, wobbling a bit as she thought with a flash of irritation, 'Could he really not have figured out we were dating?'

The ground streamed by beneath Videl as she soared on, enjoying the feel the air whistling by her. She smiled wryly, feeling the honest pleasure of this gift, the best present that Gohan had ever given her. 'And the only one,' she thought.

The grasses soon gave way to rock, then desert sands blew around her as she let herself drop, coming down to rest on a simple stone tower. Short black hair fell into her eyes as she sat down on the warm stone, crossing her legs under her as she looked up at the blue sky, watching the white clouds drift by on the shockingly blue sky.

"So what do I do now?" Videl muttered.

She had always wanted to be the best fighter in the world, to live up to her father's legacy. Videl smiled to herself wryly, 'Not that Hercule was what all that he claimed to be.' Still, she had developed her physical strength, her fighting power, and for a time she had thought that she was at least the second best to her father.

"Then I met Gohan," Videl muttered to herself as she lay flat on her back, cushioning her head with her arms.

His first appearance as the Gold Fighter with his superhuman power, then 'Great Sayaman' and eventually meeting all the other Z fighters had just driven the point home. Her father wasn't the world's strongest, he had just been lucky that they hadn't chosen to compete against him. And his supposed victory over the deadly warrior Cell? He may have been there, but Videl doubted that Hercule had played any major role there.

Videl didn't feel any anger for him, didn't even resent the deception that her father had carried out to the world. What she resented was her own inability, her complete lack of power. Working with Gohan showed her she merely had a shadow of the sort of power that he had, and even mastering flight under his training hadn't really helped.

'I may be able to use the sort of power that the other Z fighters do,' Videl thought, 'but I can't really do anything with the little bit that I have.' She sat up, closing her eyes for a moment as she mused, 'I want to compete on their level, I want to be able to find my own power.' Videl sighed softly, 'But I can't do that, not the way I am.'

Videl rose to her feet, her stance casual, but there was a feeling of power all around her. The dust motes flew around her as she rose up into the air, hovering there a moment as she felt that simple realization come over her.

"Then I guess I'll have to try and become something else," Videl concluded, soaring off with a destination clearly in mind.

Bulma opened up the door, looking at Videl with a wry smile on the blue haired woman's face, seemingly unsurprised at seeing her at her door. "Gohan called me," she explained as she waved Videl in, "he was worried about you."

Videl raised her eyebrows and followed her in as she said, "I wonder if he called all our friends or if he guessed I'd be coming here?"

"I wouldn't underestimate Gohan's intelligence," Bulma scolded.

"Oh?" Videl asked as she was sent to a seat at the kitchen table and Bulma got them some healthy fruit drinks from the fridge.

Bulma looked amused as she said, "Gohan can be kind of dumb emotionally, but other than that he's pretty sharp."

"Maybe," Videl didn't sound terribly convinced as she sat down, Bulma sitting just across from her. "Are you all alone here?" she asked.

"Baby Trunks is here," Bulma smiled to herself fondly, "but Vegeta has taken off on another one of his training journeys again."

"It must get lonely," Videl murmured, thinking back to all the times her father had left back when she was a little girl.

"Not really," Bulma looked impish as she drawled, "I always have my, ahem, muscle massager to keep me company."

It took Videl a moment to figure that out, then the girl blushed brightly under the clearly amused woman's gaze. "I wanted to ask you something," the dark haired girl quickly changed the subject to the reason that she had come there, "is there any way that a normal fighter can reach the sort of power levels a Z fighter can?"

"A normal fighter," Bulma took a drink from her cold cup of juice as she continued on gravely, "meaning you."

"Yes," Videl admitted.

"No way," Bulma shook her head regretfully.

"Oh come on," Videl protested, "a suit of battle armor, maybe?"

"Whatever you gained in strength enhancement you'd loose in speed and maneuverability," Bulma said, "they'd take you apart."

"Cybernetic enhancements, like the androids," Videl offered up the idea, looking across the table at Bulma intensely.

"You'd really go that far?" Bulma raised delicate eyebrows, a bit surprised.

"I don't know," Videl admitted.

"Yamcha came to me for help a while back," Bulma said softly, "he's a Z fighter, but he was never able to... ascend, in the same way that the others have. His powers never grew, he never pushed himself in the same way the others did."

"And he wanted you to enhance him," Videl said softly.

"For what had once been between us I tried my best," Bulma softly said, "and failed. The only thing that I could give him wasn't enough for him, he still would have had to work hard for any possible increase in his power."

"Oh," Videl blinked, wondering for a moment what had once been between Bulma and the former bandit. She stopped, something Bulma had said fully registering and asked her "So what did you come up with for him?"

Bulma walked over to a dresser, pulling open a drawer and digging around inside while muttering comments under her breath as she came across various things like, "Oh there's where I put the dragon radar." Finally she pulled out a pair of gloves and tossed them to Videl and said, "Here."

The black gloves were fingerless, the synthetic cloth glossy in the kitchen lights. On the back of each was a clear crystal, held onto the gloves by a simple golden ring. "What are they?" Videl asked, a bit hesitant to pull them on.

"Chi resonators," Bulma explained.

Videl blinked as she blurted, "You can manipulate that energy scientifically?"

"It impacts the physical world," Bulma shrugged, "so a scientist should be able to study it." She took on a lecturing tone as she nodded to the gloves, "By manifesting a chi field the gloves will amplify the effect, giving you more energy to draw on. Eventually, you'd be able to generate that greater power level entirely naturally."

"But you'd have to train hard to keep that power," Videl mused, "as well as to continue to grow in power, right?" Bulma nodded her agreement as Videl slipped the gloves on, tightening straps on her wrists till they fit. "Not bad," Videl murmured.

"Don't try them out until you go outside," Bulma quickly cautioned her, having some experience with the girl's impatience.

"Oh, right," Videl looked a little sheepish, "sorry."

To be continued...


	2. Two

Dragonball Z: Videl's Way: Two

The two walked out of the little house in the middle of the Capsule Corporation complex, moving away from the other buildings until they reached a clear patch of grass. Videl took a nervous breath then called up her power, her chi, then gasped in surprise as a spark of power flared in one gem, bouncing to the other then blazing around her as her chi surged.

"Is everything all right?" Bulma called out, shielding her face from the dust, the air rushing by her as the girl blazed brightly.

"Oh, yes," Videl beamed. The power died out almost as soon as it appeared, Videl panting and breathless. Still, there was a fire in her eyes, a passion that hadn't been there only a short time ago. "This is going to take some practice," Videl looked up at Bulma happily, "but thank you."

"Don't thank me," Bulma put her hands in her white labcoat pockets as she continued, "it's going to take you a lot of work to get the most out of them."

"I will," Videl said firmly, "count on it."

Bulma watched a few moments later as Videl rose into the sky, her aura already glowing slightly brighter as she headed off to the next part of her plans. "Good luck," she murmured, "though I doubt you're really going to need it."

The little island was far from most of civilization, in fact if you didn't have a very good idea exactly where it was you'd never be able to find it. The little beach house looked comfortable, the palm trees around it shading the porch where the man sat, smiling slightly as he watched his wife and daughter playing out in the surf.

The spark of golden light merely announced the arrival of a power Krillin already sensed. The former monk pushed his brown hair back as the young woman dropped down onto the beach, walking up to the house with a false casualness.

"Hey Videl," Krillin said cheerfully, the Hawaiian shirt and matching shorts he wore giving him a odd resemblance to Master Roshi, "what brings you by?"

She settled delicately, her garb mostly black. A plain muscle shirt, shorts and a jacket covered Videl snugly, the sort of clothes that you might wear into a fight. "You got my message?" Videl asked him calmly.

"You sure about this? I never trained anyone before," Krillin said.

"You were trained under Master Roshi," Videl said, "who was once the strongest fighter in the world." She flashed a smile as she continued, "I'm sure that I can learn a lot from you."

"So," Eighteen walked up to shoo the little girl into the house then gazed with a thoughtful expression at Videl, "this is my new punching bag?"

"Eighteen," Krillin said proudly, "will be your sparing partner."

Eighteen pushed her short blonde hair up out of her face, her athletic body shown off by the gesture as she drawled, "Don't worry, I promise I won't do any permanent damage."

Videl took a nervous breath as she looked between Krillin and Eighteen then smiled bravely. "I'm ready to start when you are," she said.

"That's the spirit," Krillin went to slap her back but the little man accidentally hit her right on the butt.

"Watch the hands, love," Eighteen gave Videl an oddly predatory look as she continued, "this little cupcake is mine."

"Ah, right," Videl blinked.

The days on the beach were filled with combat, Krillin demonstrating techniques that Videl would in turn try to use against Eighteen. If she got it right, Eighteen's mock attack would stop, if she got it wrong Eighteen would remorselessly pound her into the floor. If was a effective way to drive the lessons home, and with each day Videl felt she was growing ever stronger.

And her nights were filled by a entirely different form of combat. The first night Eighteen had shown up in her bedroom Videl had been surprised, even with all the teasing that the sexy android had done during the day. They had talked, that night, Eighteen quietly expressing her interest then leaving, simply asking Videl to think about it.

Videl did think, all that day, and in the evening she had eagerly welcomed Eighteen into her bed. "And Krillin doesn't mind?" Videl had whispered at one point.

Eighteen just laughed softly. "I love Krillin with all my heart," she said gently, "but we both know that he can't give me everything that I need." She chuckled softly, "And you know, boys just love hearing about this kind of thing."

Videl groaned, "There's an entertaining thought."

Eighteen moved like a cat, positioning herself above Videl as she looked down at her hungrily. "You have a lot to learn here, too," she purred right before she pounced.

Leaving the island a few months later filled Videl with regrets but she maintained a brave face. Krillin had carefully put the patch on her jacket, the symbol of the school he trained under and proudly said, "I've taught you everything I know."

"I doubt that," Eighteen smiled down at Krillin fondly, making the man blush. She looked up at Videl, "You're always welcome to come back."

"Thank you," Videl said, honestly meaning it before she continued, "but I still want to try to develop my skills even further."

"Thought you'd say that," Krillin said, passing her a small notebook. He smiled as she opened it curiously, "Names and addresses of the other Z fighters, the ones I know about anyway."

"This... thank you," Videl bowed, the gesture filled with respect. "With this I'm sure I can complete my training," she murmured.

Krillin cautioned her, "I can't promise you that they'll all be willing to train you." He grinned, "But even challenging them will be educational."

"Either way it works," Eighteen agreed, moving forward to startle Videl with a firm hug. "Come back some time," she grinned, "there's a few tricks I can still show you."

"I'll try," Videl agreed with a blush.

The two of them watched Videl rise up into the air, soon disappearing off into the distance. "Wonder if I should have included Yamcha's name on that list?" Krillin mused.

"They'll run into each other eventually," Eighteen shrugged casually, "better at a time and place of her choosing."

It was over a year later that Bulma saw her return, the black haired young woman dropping down onto the grass outside of the Capsule Corporation buildings. Videl looked different than when she had left, confidence in her stance and a warm smile on her young face.

"So how did it go?" Bulma asked, walking towards her curiously.

Videl grinned back, "I think I'm ready, if that makes sense."

"And Gohan?" Bulma raised an eyebrow, wondering how she would respond.

"I'm going to go see him after this," Videl answered, "and let him know that he's my best friend... but that's all that he is." Videl's cheeks went red as she remembered some of the things she had done over the past year, "I have feelings for him, but I'm not in love."

Bulma looked impish as she took in the blush on Videl's face. "I guess you and Eighteen got better aquatinted," she offered.

"How did you know..." Videl started only to trail off. "You, too?" she smiled, giving Bulma a look that was rather speculative.

"Uh huh," Bulma had a Cheshire cat grin on her face as she continued, "Maybe after you and Gohan get reacquainted you can come back here?"

Videl's voice had dropped to a warm purr, "I think I'll do that." With that she returned to the skies, racing to a reunion she was rather looking forward to.

The house was as far from civilization as you could get, something the small family living there honestly appreciated. In his bedroom Gohan sighed softly, the teen packing his school books away tiredly. It was hard to put any effort into these things lately, it all felt oddly pointless, somehow. He was setting them up on a shelf when he felt it, an oddly familiar power that was approaching the house at high speed.

"Do you feel that?" Chi-chi asked, his black haired mother coming in to the room with a slight frown on her beautiful face. She had been a martial artist herself for many years, competing against his father Gohan, and she had retained those skills over the years.

"Yeah, I'd better see who it is," Gohan agreed, going past her to the front door.

The fighter was just touching down outside as he left the house, the feeling of a dangerous power coming from her. He didn't power up yet, not knowing what he might be facing, then she turned towards him and he felt his mouth drop open in surprise.

"Hello Gohan," Videl smiled, and Gohan was shocked at the power he felt coming off of her, the equal of any of the Z fighters. The jacket that she wore carried the names of many dojos and masters, including those of both Tien and Krillin. "Want to spar?" she took up her stance with a grin, the gems on her black gloves gleaming.

End

Author's Note: I originally wanted to do a 'Videl rebels' story but she didn't seem to want to, somehow, so instead you get this. I may or may not continue this alternate Videl, as I've had a few requests to do a shoujo-ai story with her. This is set shortly after the Buu saga and is based on how Videl is originally portrayed in the series, not how she wimps out later on.


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